The most urgent issue in kids' technology (according to me)
Issue #14
Last year, I sat for an interview with Rubens Cantuni for his book "Designing Digital Products for Kids: Deliver User Experiences that Delight Kids, Parents and Teachers." Now that the book officially launched, I must say that I'm incredibly humbled and honored to be featured in this book alongside some industry heavyweights. I just received my copy and thought I'd share a highlight from my interview on a topic that I'm very passionate about.
Rubens posed this question: what's the most urgent issue we should address in digital products for kids today?
Here's what I told him:
To me, the most urgent issue in developing digital products for kids is that they need to be designed from the group up around children's privacy and safety. Kids are not a market that should be expanded into. They have such unique needs, and at younger ages, I always argue that privacy and safety are much more coupled than when we are older. The range of negative outcomes for children when privacy has been compromised is far greater than it is for adults.
I have a huge concern when existing products simply try to expand into the kids' segment. The reason for this is that adult platforms (especially social ones) are built to optimize two things: growth and engagement. When designing products for children and families, you simply have to trade off some of the growth levers in order to keep it safe, and you shouldn't use persuasive design to drive engagement. Likes, follower counts, and streaks are examples of things that are used to keep us engaged, but I believe there are unintended consequences that come as youth are increasingly relying on getting social validation in these ways.
Retrofitting platforms that were designed for massive growth and scale back to the kids' market is really challenging in my opinion. I think that is why we've seen Facebook Messenger Kids have loopholes that allowed children to connect with strangers in groups for instance. I don't think it was intentional by any means, but is an example of the challenges.
Even worse, several platforms have simply ignored the fact that kids use them. YouTube is the most obvious example, but we know there are millions of children in North America using Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, among others. In my opinion, it was easier for the platforms to ignore that fact, point to their Terms of Use (which say 13+), and simply say the children aren’t supposed to be there than it was to comply with COPPA or GDPR-K. But these are also platforms that derive their value from user counts.
The interview gave me another chance to reflect on the concerns I see in the kids' technology space—concerns that eventually led me to found Kinzoo. And, the issues I discussed with Rubens are more relevant today than ever. If you have an interest in design or want to hear from many great people that are building better technologies for kids, I highly recommend the book (and not just because I'm in it!).
A deeper dive
Here are a few helpful resources in case you want to really dig into today's topic:
Technology writer Rachel Metz perfectly articulates my unease about retrofitting adult tech platforms for younger audiences. In an article about Facebook Messenger Kids, she states, "It’s good that children have a chance to grow gradually into social apps, but I don’t necessarily want Facebook to be the teacher."
Kid-tech is still one of the most misunderstood and underserved segments in the market. It's why I started Kinzoo in the first place. I wanted to be able to give my own kids access to technology that met their unique needs—without compromising their safety or privacy. If you're interested in better understanding the nuance of building technology for children, check out Björn Jeffery's excellent essay on the topic. I'd go so far as to say that it's required reading on the issue.
TL;DR
Too long; didn't read. It shouldn't be a full-time job to keep up on industry news, so here is a mercifully quick summary of some other notable developments:
Verizon recently partnered up with the Family Online Safety Institute to study the digital lives of today's families. One of the key findings of their research is that attitudes towards online safety and responsibility are changing. The shift is largely being driven by millennial parents, who tend to see online safety as a shared responsibility—not just between them and their kids, but also among media, tech companies, government and education institutions. It will certainly be interesting to see how these shifting attitudes change the kid-tech landscape over time!
TikTok is known for its viral challenges—some created by the platform itself and some invented by users. But, every so often, these challenges have a way of going sideways for participants. A recent "Silhouette Challenge" saw users posting filtered shots of themselves in various states of undress, as a way of celebrating different body types. But, as soon as the challenge took off, people started figuring out how to remove the filters and reveal the images underneath. It's an unfortunate reminder that we have little control over what happens to the content we post publicly on social media. There are some out there who will find ways to exploit it.
And lastly
Here are a few more pieces of original writing from me and my team—just in case you're keen for more:
At the end of 2020, I spent some time reflecting on all the ways that the pandemic changed our relationship to technology. If you're interested in my takeaways, check out my latest article for the Forbes Technology Council.
It's been a bit more than a month since Kinzoo launched video calling—and we've heard plenty of great feedback from families. One thing that comes up often is that parents are eager to help their kids understand video calling etiquette, so our team put together this handy guide here.
Okay, that's it from me until next week. If you enjoyed this newsletter, and know of another parent who would as well, please feel free to forward it along.